NBA news: Charles Barkley on Michael Jordan friendship, The Last Dance, ESPN
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were good friends despite some heated battles on the court when both were still playing.
But it was an episode in their next jobs Jordan running the Charlotte Bobcats and Barkley criticising him as a TNT analyst eight years ago that caused a rift, which Barkley doesn't see thawing anytime soon.
"The guy was like a brother to me for, shoot, 20-something years," Barkley said Tuesday on the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.
"At least 20-something years. And I do, I feel sadness. But to me he's still the greatest basketball player ever. I wish him nothing but the best. But, there's nothing I can do about it, brother."
Asked if there was any hope for their relationship could come back, Barkley didn't sound optimistic.
"Oh, he got my number," Barkley said. "He can call me."
Barkley was on the same radio show in Chicago in 2012 when he evaluated Jordan's poor performance as part-owner and the boss of basketball operations for the Bobcats.
